Chapter Fourteen

"Are you upset about something, Richard?" Erik rubbed at his hair with a towel as he stepped out of the bathroom. "You've been a little off the last couple of days."

Sighing, Gunn removed the weapon he had just holstered in preparation for leaving for work and sat on the bed. "I'm not upset. But we do need to talk." He patted the spot next to him and gestured Erik over.

Erik instinctively knew what the subject of their discussion was going to be. "The commitment ceremony?"

Gunn nodded, organizing his thoughts. "You know same sex marriage is legal in the District. And after speaking with Angela, I think that we should discuss the idea of holding off on the commitment ceremony in favor of an actual, legal wedding."

Erik stared at Gunn in shock, trying to process exactly what he had said and why. "You're just looking for an excuse to hold off on the ceremony, aren't you?"

He had never lied to Erik and he wasn't going to start now. "Maybe."

"Okay." Erik stood and walked to the bathroom again, throwing his towel into the hamper by the door. "I certainly don't want you to do anything you don't want to do."

Gunn dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. "You're putting words into my mouth, E. I never said I didn't want to commit to you." He looked over at where Erik stood by the doorway, scowling. "What I want to do it wait."

"It's the same thing, as far as I'm concerned."

Gunn shook his head and stood to put a hand on his arm. "Erik. Stop it."

"No, Richard! No!" He shook off Gunn's hand and stomped to the closet to get his clothes. "I have every right to be pissed off and you're not going to use that soothing, perp-pacifying voice you affect every time you think I'm being unreasonable. How else do you expect me to react?"

Gunn watched as Erik grabbed clothes off the hangers, throwing them towards the bed haphazardly. "This is exactly how I expected you to react. You're not going to listen to me, are you?"

Erik stopped mid-stride on the way to the bed, standing with his hands on his hips and a frown on his face. "Fine. Talk."

"Ugh. E, I do want to be with you. But I can't talk rationally to you when you're not in the mood to actually hear what I'm saying. This is getting way out of hand." Gunn reached for his weapon again, holstering it and walking towards the bedroom door. "Let's meet for lunch, somewhere public where we can talk like adults. I don't want to argue with you right now."

"No."

"No?"

"No. Just tell me, Gunn."

Uh oh. It was never good when Erik used his last name. "Fine." He threw his hands up in exasperation. "I want to marry you!" Even Gunn was surprised by his admission.

Erik dropped onto the bed, eyes wide. "What?" he whispered.

Gunn crouched down in front of Erik, hands on his knees, eye to eye. "I want to marry you. Legally."

Erik laughed a little, grabbing Gunn's hand. "Down on bended knee, even. What every girl dreams of."

Gunn's head dropped down, laughter causing his shoulders to shake. "God, you're a doofus."

"I know, probably why you love me."

"Among a million other reasons." Gunn looked up, all trace of mirth gone. "So? Will you?"

Erik sighed and pulled Gunn to him, holding him tightly. "You know I will. I would be a fool not to, you're quite a catch." He pulled back and grinned. "I mean, you're no Seeley Booth, but you're pretty great anyway."

Gunn laughed again, leaning up for a sweet, loving kiss. "Well really, who could compete with Booth? I'm just glad you put up with me. I'm a lucky guy."

Erik grinned. "You really, really are."

~B&B~

"Ang? Are you alright?" Hodgins stood outside the bathroom door that adjoined their master bedroom listening to his wife retching on the other side.

Angela spit, then stood to rinse her mouth out and brush her teeth. "Yeah, Jack. C'mon in, babe."

Hodgins opened the door slowly, peeking around the doorframe. "You sure?"

Angela turned and smiled weakly at his reflection in the mirror. "Really. I actually feel better now that I've gotten it out of my system. I think I might even want breakfast."

Jack sighed in relief and rubbed her back absently. "I'm glad to hear that. I just feel like this is my entire fault and there's nothing I can do about it."

Angela turned and took his face in her hands. "Jack Hodgins. We talked about this. It's literally not you, it's me, and if we want to do this, we have to accept certain truths. And one certain truth we're accepting is that the clomiphene I need to ovulate makes me nauseous. I'm okay with that, really. It's a common side effect."

"Doesn't make it any easier, though. I'm sorry, Angie." He pulled her into an embrace.

"I know. But hey…maybe this will do the trick and we can finally combine our exceptional DNA for one cute-as-hell Hodgins heir." She pulled back and grinned before kissing him soundly. "Now go make me some pancakes."

"Your wish is my command, my love."

~B&B~

Booth collapsed on the living room sofa and groaned. "I think I am getting way too damn old to be chasing a nine year old around, Bones. Parker kicked my ass. Seriously, I'm beat."

"Booth, you're pathetic." Brennan sat across from him on the coffee table, kicking his feet off in the process. "And besides, you barely broke a sweat the entire time you and Parker were running around. I seriously doubt you're ready to pack it in yet."

Grinning, Booth had to agree. "Yeah, I think the old man's got a few more miles left in the tank. That kid is a good workout, though."

"He is indeed. I'm exhausted just from watching the two of you. But he really is a wonderful child." Brennan agreed, somewhat wistfully.

Booth looked up at Brennan, seeing again the same look in her eyes that he had been catching on and off all day long. The thought occurred to him that they hadn't broached the idea of her having a child since his tumor, and he wasn't entirely sure now was the right time…but he figured now was as good a time as any, but he tread lightly. "Do you still think about kids, Bones?" He hoped his offhand delivery didn't betray his hopefulness.

Brennan knew this discussion was inevitable, and she had prepared an answer for the moment when Booth finally broached it. However, after watching Booth with Parker all day long, she found that her previous feelings had changed…significantly.

"I do, actually." She forced herself to look him in the eye. "Is that something you think about as well?"

Booth sat forward and reached for her hands. "Look, Bones…I'm perfectly happy with the way things are now. I am. If you decided that you didn't want children, I am more than okay with that. But…"

"But?"

"I can't help feeling like we would be missing out on something amazing if we decided not to have a child together."

Brennan held her face impassive, nodding slowly. Booth felt his stomach clench in anxiety, wondering what was going on in that big brain of hers.

"I was hoping you'd say that, Booth."